The eighth annual Marcy Arts Partnership (MAP) Gala takes place April 18, 6–11 p.m. at The Soap Factory, 518 SE Second St. Patrons can bid, via silent and live auctions, on fine art, ceramics, photography, furniture, jewelry and more donated by local artists. The proceeds — which have averaged $35,000 over past years, according to Melissa Bean, executive director of the Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association — will support a variety of arts education programs and activities at Marcy Open School.

Attendees can hear the product of one aspect of that arts funding as the Marcy Rock Band plays at the gala. The Tiyumba Dance Company, an African dance troupe, is also expected to perform. Also at the event will be food from local restaurants and raffles for meat and “enough wine to stock your cellar.”

“The generosity of the arts community around here, from Northeast and Southeast, is unbelievable,” said Bean, noting that all the food and beverages are similarly donated by local proprietors. The gala “is a school thing but is also a community-building thing,” she said.

For Dik Bolger, owner of Bolger Printing, the gala is a collection-building thing. He’s attended the gala since its first year and has added his finds — including paintings, limited edition signed prints and furniture — to a gallery of arts, started by his parents, at his offices and plant in Southeast Como.

“We hang art because it is good business,” said Bolger in a MAP release about the gala. “It creates a better place to work for our employees, and it makes our tours for the customers much more interesting.” Of course, the philanthropic aspect is not lost on Bolger, either. “It’s a great way to build a collection while supporting one of our city’s public schools,” he said.